Wild Wadi

We decided to take advantage of being so close to Dubai and went to the water park at the Burj Al Arab - Wild Wadi.

We invited several friends and stayed all day long! As with many things in the Emirates, and Dubai in particular, it was over the top. We reserved a private cabana (an area of 600-800 sq ft). There were loungers, fresh towels, lots of shade and a table and chairs, and we had our own "attendant" who brought us fresh fruit skewers, coconut lolly-pops and anything off the menu.

Our cabana also afforded us private entry onto the lazy river (pictured) which also offered easy access to, umm, the slides. I say that because you ride a slide with jets UP hill to get to the slides that you ride DOWN hill.

We stayed all day long, until after sunset. The Burj after sunset is absolutely gorgeous (see the link above). We were totally exhausted the next day. It was lots of fun.

Laughing Out Loud

We just opened a package that came today and had an absolute riot laughing at the contents. There was a Gumby, a Pokey, a clothespin, a used scrubbing sponge, a straw, 4 toothpicks, kitchen sink nozzle and a medicine cup, among other things. How utterly hilarious!!

I asked my sis-in-law to purchase a few items and ship them to us-I did not expect all of this. I should have known better. During Hallowe'en the adult children stay at home and Mom goes "trick-or-treating" to all our homes. Usually we are last and by the time Mom gets to us the others have taken all the good candy from her bag and left us with rubber bands, rusty nails, dirty pennies and dryer lint (really!).

Love you guys! Thanks for the cards and all the goodies!!

Missed the Party!

It is Tax Day in the U.S. and there are Tea Parties going on in all fifty states. I'm sorry I'm missing it! There are many reasons for the Tea Party movement but I think the one that motivates my fellow Americans most is an overall increase in the tightening of the Federal government's control over our "wealth" - defined as our ability to earn, to maintain our earnings, and to make decisions about our future productivity.

While I can't be there I can reassert this:
I still believe in the Constitution which clearly states that any power not specifically given to the Federal government is reserved to the States or the people. I believe that my rights do not come from what the government allots to me, but are inherently mine by the will of God. This includes my right to protect myself, my family and my home by any means necessary; my right to speak my mind; and to worship without interference. These are not only my rights, but yours as well-as long as you are a citizen of the Great Republic governed by the Constitution.

I also believe that the people collectively have the right to remove their government when it no longer serves the needs of the people-the same people from which all of its power is derived.

These are the principles I was taught in public school 20 years ago. But according to the recent report from the Department of Homeland Security I might be "radicalized."

Stars on a Cajun Night

I have been excited for weeks, ever since I found out that the Pine Leaf Boys were coming to town! I had never heard of them, but with a name like that they just had to play the kind of music that makes you tap your toes. I was not disappointed. Their Cajun music brought the house down, with 30+ ambassadors in attendance.

The musical portion of the night started out very dignified with a performance by Naseer Shamma on a lute. It is a beautiful instrument. The mood was austere and formal. Then (our) Ambassador Olson stood to introduce the band, giving background on southern Louisiana and the Cajun culture. As soon as the band started playing feet on the stage and in the crowd started taping! I enjoyed so much seeing people from all over the world thoroughly enjoying this music. Some were even dancing in the aisles at the end.

Before the show the Ambassador held an invitation-only reception, which is part of my job to attend (I know, I have such a tough life). I greet guests, make sure they meet the Ambassador, get refreshments and never stand alone. One of our guests was Dennis Haysbert (The Unit, 24, AllState commercials).

I come from Nashville. We don't lose our dignity over celebrities. I held my own, spoke with him and casually had my photo taken with him. He was very gracious. I was dancing like a teenage girl inside!

Wearing a Headscarf

Believe it or not the conversation between us and many different friends has turned to the inordinate amount of hair loss. We are all losing hair at an alarming rate. Most of us are fairly new to the Gulf region, so we are all beginning to notice it at the same time. When I arrived my hair was crazy fluffy and almost unmanagable (no flat iron for a few months). Now it has become flat and stringy.

It is apparently due to the use of desalinated sea water, high levels of chlorine to offset sea water bacteria and the addition of lime to water for the purpose of counteracting the chlorine. The first two are highly drying agents and the latter creates calcium deposits in the hair, making it heavy and stringy. (Now I finally understand why I had stringy hair when I was growing up-we had hard, calcium rich water.)

In addition to all of these damaging effects, sand & mica from the winds collect on our hair and skin causing even more damage. Apparently this contributes to people in the Gulf age faster than their counterparts in other regions.

I may soon start covering my head to protect my hair like the local women. The more I learn about living in the Gulf, the more the clothing choices of the inhabitants make sense. The loose clothing is much more comfortable because of the constant breezes, but I have found my shorter skirts will fly up in a gust, so even the longer skirts are beginning to appeal to me.

Despite my concerns about skin and hair damage, taking action to correct it will have to wait a day or so - we are going to the beach for the first time tomorrow!

Dune Bashing

We went dune bashing on Thursday night. We met up with some friends at one of the local hotels on Thursday afternoon at 3:00, and only had to wait minutes for our adventure guide to pull up in his nearly new limited edition Toyota land cruiser. He drove the five of us about an hour east of the city before we turned off into the desert. After just a few minutes, we saw a group of people gathered around large pens of camels. There were a dozen large pens with 8-10 camels in each, the camels were eating and drinking and we were all gathered around taking pictures. There were 5 other land cruisers there with drivers, for the group that was already on site and after about 15 minutes we were told to mount up and we started a convoy into the desert. Our driver was very dedicated to his sport, and for the next hour we weaved, climbed, jumped and slid over the most beautiful country we could imagine. We all laughed and whooped so hard, our sides were sore the rest of the night. If it would have ended there it would have been worth every penny, instead we pulled through a gate into a 2-3 acre level site with large lavish tents, a raised stage, kneeling tables all around the stage, an open bar, a buffet line building, bathroom facilities and tables full of coffee, cokes and snacks to hold us over until dinner. After a cup of coffee and a little rest, four of us got on quad bikes and raced around for about 30 minutes. When we got back to camp, there were camels available to ride so we definitely had to do that. The camels lie down, you get on their back and then they stand up front legs first. Camels are very tall, and it’s a ride itself hanging on until they get up on their huge hoofs. The ride was short, and I’m glad there was a handler leading us the whole time. After the camel ride, we all hit the buffet line and loaded up on good local food that included grilled chicken and lamb. Immediately after dinner, the perimeter lights dimmed, and a lovely belly dancer put on a show for us. When the show was over, it was 10 pm, our bellies were full, sides still hurt from our earlier whooping and laughing our driver told us we could load up when we were ready. We got back to the hotel at 11 and to our villa about 11:30 tired and already committing to experience that whole thing again. If any of the above sounds like fun to you, all you have to do is come to visit (free food and lodging), and I’ll gladly call the same driver for a repeat performance.